On Sandy, Boron-Poor Soils, Liming Induced Severe Boron Deficiency and Drastically Reduced the Dry Matter Yield of Young Olive Trees.

In the northeast of Portugal, like in many parts of the world, most soils are acidic, which may hamper crop productivity. This study presents the findings of a factorial experiment on olive (Olea europaea L.) involving three factors: (i) soil type [schist (Sch) and granite (Gra)]; (ii) cultivars [Cobrançosa (Cob) and Arbequina (Arb)]; and (iii) fertilizer treatments [liming (CaCO3) plus magnesium (Mg) (LMg), phosphorus (P) application (+P), boron (B) application (+B), all fertilizing materials combined (Con+), and an untreated control (Con-)]. Dry matter yield (DMY) did not show significant differences between cultivars, but plants grown in schist soil exhibited significantly higher biomass compared to those in granite soil. Among the treatments, +B and Con+ resulted in the highest DMY (50.8 and 47.2 g pot-1, respectively), followed by +P (34.3 g pot-1) and Con- (28.6 g pot-1). Treatment LMg yielded significantly lower values (15.6 g pot-1) than Con-. LMg raised the pH above 7 (7.36), leading to a severe B deficiency. Although Con+ also raised the pH above 7 (7.48), it ranked among the most productive treatments for providing B. Therefore, when applying lime to B-poor sandy soils, moderate rates are advised to avoid inducing a B deficiency. Additionally, it seems prudent to apply B after lime application.

Different LED light intensity and quality change perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) physiological and growth responses and water and energy consumption.

Light intensity and spectral composition highly affect plant physiology, growth, and development. According to growing conditions, each species and/or cultivar has an optimum light intensity to drive photosynthesis, and different light spectra trigger photosynthetic responses and regulate plant development differently. For the maintenance of natural sports pitches, namely professional football competitions, turf quality is a key condition. Due to the architecture of most football stadiums, the lawns receive low intensities of natural light, so supplementary artificial lighting above the turf is required. The use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can have a higher cost-benefit ratio than traditional high-pressure sodium lamps. The continuous emission spectrum, combined with high spectral selectivity and adjustable optical power, can be used to optimize plant growth and development. Thus, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) plants, commonly used for lawns, were primarily grown at three different intensities (200, 300, and 400 µmol m-2 s-1) of cool white light. Despite the higher water and energy consumption, 400 µmol m-2 s-1 maximizes the plant's efficiency, with higher photosynthetic rates and foliar pigment concentration, and more foliar soluble sugars and aboveground biomass accumulation. Then, it was evaluated the perennial ryegrass (Double and Capri cultivars) response to different spectral compositions [100% cool white (W), 80% Red:20% Blue (R80:B20), 90% Red:10% Blue (R90:B10), and 65% Red:15% Green:20% Blue (R65:G15:B20)] at 400 µmol m-2 s-1. Both cultivars exhibited similar responses to light treatments. In general, W contributed to the better photosynthetic performance and R90:B10 to the worst one. Water consumption and aboveground biomass were equal in all light treatments. R80:B20 allows energy savings of 24.3% in relation to the W treatment, showing a good compromise between physiological performance and energy consumption.

Kaolin particle film application stimulates photoassimilate synthesis and modifies the primary metabolome of grape leaves.

Water scarcity is associated with extreme temperatures and high irradiance, and significantly and increasingly affects grapevine yield and quality. In this context, the foliar application of kaolin, a chemically inert mineral that greatly reflects ultraviolet and infrared radiations, as well as, in part, photosynthetically active radiation, has recently been shown to decrease photoinhibition in mature leaves. Here, the influence of this particle film on grapevine leaf metabolome and carbohydrate metabolism was evaluated. Molecular mechanisms underlying photoassimilate synthesis, metabolism and transport capacity were assessed by targeted transcriptional analyses and enzymatic activity assays. Kaolin application increased sucrose concentration in leaves and sucrose transport/phloem loading capacity, as suggested by the stimulation of the transcription of sucrose transporters VvSUC12 and VvSUC27 in these source organs. While the biosynthesis of sucrose increased, as evidenced by higher sucrose content and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity in leaves, the concentration of transitory starch before the dark period remained unaltered, despite a higher total amylolytic activity in the leaves of kaolin-treated plants. Metabolomic analysis by GC-TOF-MS showed that the application of kaolin enhanced the amounts of simple sugars, including fructose, maltose, xylulose, xylose, sophorose, ribose and erythrose; sugars-phosphate, like mannose-6-Pi, hexose-6-Pi, glucose-6-Pi, glucose-1-Pi, glycerol-α-Pi and fructose-6-Pi; polyols, like xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, glycerol, galactinol and erythritol; organic acids and amino acids.

Aluminium long-term stress differently affects photosynthesis in rye genotypes.

The ability of crops to overcome Al toxicity varies among crop species and cultivars. Among the Triticeae genus, rye (Secale cereale) is considered the most Al-tolerant species. In the present work, two rye genotypes differing in Al tolerance ('Riodeva': Al-sensitive and 'Donkowsky Zlote': Al-tolerant) were exposed to 1.11 and 1.85 mM Al during three weeks. Growth, water status and photosynthesis related parameters were assessed. After three weeks of Al exposure, both genotypes presented similar decrease in leaf growth. Al-induced RWC decreased in both genotypes, but was more remarkable in 'Riodeva'. Al toxicity induced a decrease in net photosynthetic rate only after three weeks of exposure. In 'D. Zlote', A decrease was accompanied by stomatal closure, Chl a content and q(p) reduction, but no alterations in RuBisCo or sFBPase activity were observed. In 'Riodeva' plants exposed to 1.11 mM Al, A decrease was accompanied by C(i)/C(a) increase whereas in plants exposed to 1.85 mM Al C(i)/C(a) was not affected. Nevertheless, for both conditions RuBisCo activity decreased. A decrease did not limited glucose accumulation in neither of the rye genotypes. This study revealed that Al-induced earlier damages in the 'Riodeva' genotype, but both genotypes showed long-term high susceptibility to Al. Furthermore, the photosynthetic parameters proved to be a good tool to monitor Al-sensitivity and long-term exposure showed to be crucial to evaluate Al-sensitivity.

Analgesia pós-operatória da artroplastia do quadril: comparação do bloqueio de plexo lombar contínuo com a analgesia peridural / Postoperative analgesia for hip arthroplasty: comparison of continuous lumbar plexus block and epidural analgesia

RESUMO JUSTIFICATICA E OBJETIVOS: A dor pós-operatória da artroplastia total do quadril tem intensidade moderada a intensa, exigindo a realização de técnicas analgésicas eficazes. O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo com a analgesia peridural em pacientes submetidos à artroplastia de quadril. MÉTODOS: Estudo retrospectivo, observacional e analítico dos pacientes submetidos à artroplastia de quadril durante dois anos, sob analgesia pós-operatória por bloqueios do plexo lombar contínuo e peridural. Os pacientes foram divididos de acordo com a técnica analgésica escolhida pelo anestesiologista. O protocolo consiste em infusão contínua de ropivacaína a 0,2% (5mL/h) via cateter de bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo ou em ropivacaína a 0,1% e fentanil 3µg/mL (5mL/h) via cateter peridural. Recorrendo aos registos da Unidade de Dor Aguda, foram comparados os três dias pós-operatórios dos grupos bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo e peridural em relação à intensidade da dor, analgesia de resgate, complicações e tempo de internação hospitalar. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídos 162 pacientes. A maioria de ambos os grupos não apresentou queixas de dor no primeiro dia pós-operatório (77,6% bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo versus 79,2% peridural). Ambos os grupos não diferiram em relação à intensidade de dor nem à incidência de necessidade de analgesia de resgate (23,5% bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo versus 22,1% peridural). O grupo bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo registrou menos complicações (4,7% versus 23,4%), nomeadamente bloqueio motor, náuseas, vômitos e prurido. A rara ocorrência de complicações não permite detectar diferenças significativas entre as técnicas. A maioria dos pacientes de ambos os grupos obteve alta hospitalar no 3º dia pós-operatório. CONCLUSÃO: Em relação à analgesia peridural, o bloqueio do plexo lombar contínuo proporcionou analgesia semelhante com menos complicações.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Postoperative pain after total hip arthroplasty is moderate to severe and requires effective analgesic techniques. This study aimed at comparing continuous lumbar plexus block and epidural analgesia in patients submitted to hip arthroplasty. METHODS: This is a prospective, observational and analytical study of patients submitted to hip arthroplasty in a two-year period, under postoperative analgesia with continuous lumbar plexus block and epidural analgesia. Patients were divided according to the analgesic technique chosen by the anesthesiologist. The protocol consists in continuous perfusion of 0.2% ropivacaine (5mL/h) via continuous lumbar plexus block catheter or 0.1% ropivacaine and fentanil (3μg/mL) (5mL/h) via epidural catheter. Using Acute Pain Unit records, three postoperative days were compared between continuous lumbar plexus block and epidural analgesia with regard to pain intensity, rescue analgesia, complications and hospital stay. RESULTS: Participated in the study 162 patients. Most patients of both groups had no pain in the first postoperative day (77.6% continuous lumbar plexus block versus 79.2% epidural). Both groups were not different with regard to pain intensity and need for rescue analgesia (23.5% continuous lumbar plexus block versus 22.1% epidural). Continuous lumbar plexus block group had fewer complications (4.7% versus 23.4%), namely motor block, nausea, vomiting and itching. The low number of complications does not allow the detection of significant differences between techniques. Most patients of both groups were discharged in the third postoperative day. CONCLUSION: As compared to epidural analgesia, continuous lumbar plexus block has provided similar analgesia with fewer complications.